The classic story of the poor orphan, Oliver experiences the terror and brutality of the criminal world with his companions: a pickpocket, a thief, a prostitute, and a fence. Born and raised in the appalling deprivation of the workhouse, the orphan Oliver escapes only to fall in with a gang of child thieves. Oliver's rescue by the kindly Mr. Brownlow is only the beginning of a series of adventures that lead him to an incredible discovery.